Metal can and closure therefor



Nov. 22, 1932. HQPKINS 1,888,319

METAU CAN AND CLOSURE THEREFOR Filed Oct. 2 1, 1930 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS BY g 10' customary to apply .1 its being struck at an angle. I

50 therefor,

Patented Ettou. 22, 1932.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ARTHUR G. HOPKINS, MASPETH, NEW YORK, ASSIGNORi TO METAL PACKAGE COB- PORATION, 0] NEW YORK, N. Y A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE METAL CAN ARI) CLOSURE THEREFOR Application filed October 21, 1930. Serial No. 490,111.

This invention relates to metal cans and to closures therefor, and more particularly to such cans and closures intended to form an air-tight metal container.

- Metal cans are ordinarily provided with an opening through which the can may filled or emptied, and with a plug or closure adapted to be forced into the opening. When the cans are first filled at the factory, it is the closure by striking the same with a mallet. This frequently forces the closure into the can opening at a slant, due either to the closure having been initially positioned out of level, or due to This results in a line contact, instead of a surface contact, which reduces the effectiveness of the seal between the can and its cover, and, furthermore, mutilates or deforms the can opening, which prevents the obtaining of the desired tight sealing fit.

Even if the insert or closure has been initially hammered into place correctly, the can opening is apt to be deformed out of round when the can is opened, particularly if the screw driver or similar implement used to :open the can is worked mostly at one side of the cover. This, again, will prevent accurate fit between the closure and can when the can is re-sealed.

And if the can is first sealed properly, and then opened carefully and evenly all around the periphery of the closure, the can opening may yet be deformed when the can is resealed, by forcing the closure into the can opening at a slant. The condition may, of course, be aggravated by the occurrence of two or more of the above factors, for the can opening or/and cover may be deformed in any one direction atone time, and thereafter be deformed in another direction at another time, so that a line contact, rather than a surface contact, is at best obtainable, and in extreme cases there may be no contact at all at a portion of the periphery of the cam opening.

The present invention centers, generally,'

around improvements to metal cans, and more particularly to the inserts or closures which will obviate the foregoing difliculties, and which will facilitate closing, opening, and re-sealing-the can, as well as insure the maintenance of an accurate friction fit and surface contact between the can and its closure. With these objects in View, the side wall of the closure is stepped, soas to form a straight centering portion which is dimensioned to readily fit the can opening, and a strai ht sealing portion which is dimensioned or a. force or friction fit with the can opening. A transition portion is preferably provided between the centering and seal- 1n portions of the side wall of the cover, and this transition portion is preferably tapered. With this construction the cover is accurately centered and located in true horizontal position when first placed in the can opening, so that any subsequent pressure applied to the cover tends to force it home in true surface relation with the flange wall of the opening. No appreciable deformation is caused when the can is opened, even if the cover is pried open entirely at one side thereof, because as soon as this side is lifted only partially out of the can, the centering portion of reduced diameter is reached, and the cover is freed from the can. When the can is resealed, the closure alwa s falls accurately into position by reason 0 the centering portion thereof, so that additional pressure applied thereto brings the sealing portion of the cover into accurate friction fit with the can opening. a

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as will hereinafter appear, my invention consists in the metal can elements and their relation one to the other as hereinafter are more particularly described in the specification and sou ht to be defined in the claims. The speci cation is accompanied by drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevation taken in section through a metal can embodying the features of my invention, showing the closure in place preparatory to being forced Home; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary section similar to Fig. 1, showing the closure forced home; and Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken through the closure itself.

Referring to he drawing, the body of the metal can may be of conventional type, comprisin a side wall 12, a bottom wall 14 which is app ied thereto and sealed in any desired manner as by soldering the seam 16, and a cover seat 18 applied to the opposite end of the side wall 12 and also sealed thereto as by soldering the joint 20. The cover seat 18 may be provided with a downwardly extendin or depending flange 22 which defines tfie can opening in the conventional manner.

The metal can of my invention includes 1n combination with the can body heretofore described, a plug or insert or closure 24 designed to fit the can opening in a novel manner. The closure 24 may include the usual flange 26 and depressed central portion 28 joined by a side wall for engaging the flange 22 of the can opening. The side wall, however, instead of being straight, is stepped into a plurality of portions of different d1- mension, and more particularly, is provided with a straight centering portion 30 which is dimensioned to readily fit the can opening, and a straight sealing portion 32 which is dimensioned for a force or friction fit with the can opening. The centering portion 30 and sealing portion 32 are preferablyjoined by a transition portion 34 which is preferably tapered in the manner shown. It will be understood that the stepping or change in diameter of the side wall of the closure, indicated in the drawing and particularly Fig. 1 thereof, is exaggerated for the sake of clarity, and that in actual practice the difference in diameter between the centering and sealing portions of the closure is very slight, for the centering portion fits the can opening accurately but without a friction or force fit, while the sealing portion is larger in diameter by only that slight amount needed to obtain the desired friction or force fit.

While the invention is applicable to metal cans intended for any use, it is particularly useful in connection with cans carrying paints or other liquids, or solids, necessitating a perfectl air-tight closure. In operation, the fille cans are capped accurately in a facile and rapid manner, because the closure may be preliminarily seated in the cam opening without resistance, and there centers itself by reason of the self-centering portion 30 of the closure, and assumes the desired 'horizontal position by reason of the transition ortion 34 reaching the can opening and resting thereon. When the cover is forced home, it remains in true alignment with the can opening, first, because it is'guided by the centering portion 30 and the transition portion 34; second, because it was seated properly in the first place, and no error arises from this source; and third, because the distance which it must be driven is only a fraction of the total height of the side wall of the closure,

and no appreciable deformation takes place during this relatively short movement.

The relatively small vertical dimension of the sealing portion 32 is also useful when the can is opened, for even if the cover is pried 0 en entirely at one side thereof, the slant w ich the cover attains is insuflicient to appreciably mutilate the flange 22 of the can opening when the transition and the centering portions of the closure reach the can opening and thereby free the cover from the can. It will thus be seen that the accuracy of the mating walls of the can and closure is not injured during the initial closing and opening of the can, and, of course, if the can is re-sealcd, the same advantages apply, for the cover will center and seat itself accurately in place when being forced home.

It will be evident that even when air-tightness is of no particular importance, the invention is useful in that it facilitates the act of closing and opening the can. Vhen the can is intended to be used as an air-tight package, the can opening and closure are preferably, though not necessarily, made circular, so that the centering and sealing portions 30 and 32 of the closure are cylindrical, while the transition portion 32 is conical. The use of the stepped straight portions is preferred to a complete taper of the entire side wall of the closure, because, firstly, a tapered closure will ordinarily result in only a linecontact, rather than a surface contact, for sealing the can; secondly, a tapered side wall will not insure horizontal seating of the cover and in fact, is very apt to cause the cover to be seated and subsequently driven home at a slant; and thirdly, even if the tapered cover is driven home to a tight fit the first time, it is particularly apt to have a poor fit when driven home subsequent times, because in each cast it may be forced in at a different slant.

It is thought that the manner of constructing and using my invention, and the many advantages thereof will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description thereof. It will further be apparent that while I have shown and described my invention in the preferred form, many changes and modifications may be made in the structure disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention, defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. An air-tight metal package comprising a can including a cover seat and a downwardly depending flange or side wall defining the can opening, and a closure therefore including a flange, a depressed central portion. and a side wall for engaging the aforesaid side wall of the cover seat, one of said side walls being straight, and the other of said side walls having a straight centering portion dimensioned to readily fit thefirst mentioned side wall, a transition portion, and a straight sealing portion dimensioned for a force or friction fit with the first mentioned side wall.

2. An air-tight metal package comprising a can including a cover seat and a downwardly depending, generally cylindrical flange or side wall defining the can opening, and a closure therefor including an annular flange, a depressed central portion, and a generally cylindrical side wall for engaging the aforesaid side wall of the cover seat, one of said side walls being straight, and the other of said side walls being stepped and having a cylindrical centering portion dimensioned to readily fit the first mentioned side wall, a conical transition portion, and a cylindrical sealing portion dimensioned for a force or friction fit with the first mentioned side wall.

3. A metal package comprising a can including a can opening have a side wall, and

a closure therefor also including a side wall for engaging the aforesaid side wall of the can opening, one of said side walls being straight and the other of said side walls being very slightly stepped and having a straight centering portion dimensioned to readily fit the straight side wall, and a straight sealing portion dimensioned for a forlce or friction fit with the straight side wa l. 4. A metal package comprising a can including a can opening having a generally cylindrical side wall, and a closure therefor also including a generally cylindrical side wall for engaging the aforesaid side wall of the can opening, one of said side walls being straight and the other of said side walls being very slightly stepped and having a cylindrical centering portion dimensioned to readily fit the straight side wall, a conical transition portion, and a cylindrical sealing portion dimensioned fora force or friction fit with the straight side wall.

5. An air-tight metal package comprising a can including a cover seat and a downwardly depending flange or side wall defining the can opening, and a plug type closure therefor including a flange, a depressed central portion, and a side wall for engaging the aforesaid side wall of the cover seat, the side wall of the cover seat being straight and the side wall of the plug closure having a straight centering portion dimensioned to readily fit the can opening, a transition portion, and a straight sealing portion dimensioned for a force or friction fit with the can opening.

Signed at New York in the county ofNew York and State of New York this 18 day of October A. D. 1930.

ARTHUR G. HOPKINS, 

